"Coral crab" is a general, unscientific term referring to those crabs which
depend on a coral for shelter and livelihood, including either soft or hard corals. This
particular crab is small-- under an inch across. It takes shelter between the finger-like
branches of a hard coral formation, such as those found in the shallow portions of a
healthy reef. Typically, small crabs such as these retreat to the deeper, harder to reach
recesses of a coral when approached. This makes them difficult to photograph, but I
happened to catch this one in the open and was able to get a good shot.
Sometimes crabs will have one claw that is much larger than the other; the heavy claw is
used for crushing and the smaller claw is for cutting. This one is holding its smaller
right cheliped close to its body.